Rigidly holding two or more elongate members in a desired alignment can often be mechanically challenging if the elongate members are not integrally formed. In some circumstances, however, installation requirements may necessitate that elongate members be separately provided, but subsequently joinable to provide the required functionality. For example, in many types of power folding side view mirrors for vehicles, two substantially parallel arm members are required in order to support the side view mirror in position at the side of the automobile. In order to assemble the power folding side mirrors, however, the arm members typically need to be provided as separate components which are joined via a perpendicularly orientated joining member that is passed through a channel within the mirror base (the mirror base usually having already been installed on the side of the vehicle). The power folding action of the mirror is then caused by an electric motor rotating the joining member (and hence the parallel arms, etc.) within the base.
In existing power folding side view mirrors, an arm assembly is provided including two arm members, where one of the arms includes a perpendicularly extending rod and the other a recess configured to receive the distal end of the rod. However, the inventors discovered that the arms of such an assembly, even when the rod has a reasonably snug fit within the other arm's recess, have some degree of play. This play (even if only slight) enables relative movement and twisting of one arm with respect to the other and hence movement of the side mirror. The inventors noticed that independent movement at the distal ends of the arms (i.e. those furthest away from the vehicle) caused the side view mirror to vibrate (especially when the assembly is on a vehicle driving over rough terrain), hence potentially reducing its usefulness as well as its lifespan.
The inventors further noted that such vibrations were exacerbated in the case of side view towing mirrors, which tend to be larger and extend further away from the vehicle's sides than conventional side view mirrors.
It would be advantageous to provide an assembly comprising two separate arm members and a joining member which can rigidly join the arm members.